S05.E04: Pope Breaks Bad

[yeswedo]

A mission to procure vehicles and fuel goes awry. Cochise shares troubling news with Anne that will test both her medical and leadership skills. Anthony's mental stability and his loyalties are brought into question. Meanwhile, a desperate Pope takes things into his own hands.

[ganesh]

Oh, ffs. If he says "tread lightly" I'm going to throw the tv out the window. 

[ottoDbusdriver]

Oh, ffs. If he says "tread lightly" I'm going to throw the tv out the window.

 

Or "I am the one who knocks".  Or "Say my name."

Edited July 18, 2015 by ottoDbusdriver

[TVSpectator]

Well, I thought that the Cochise plot line was kind of random. 

 

As with Pope and Hal, I do think this is going to end with Pope dead. There seems to be no other way (for this show) to end this plot line. 

Edited July 20, 2015 by TVSpectator

[Garnett7]

I really hate this plotline. Isn't it enough they have to fight aliens and skitters and overlords and freak-wasps, now Tom has to go fight Pope, too? Meh, I'll pass.

 

I hate them doing this with Pope. He was the one character who could call the Mason's on their crap and nepotism. But now all the valid points he's made will get brushed under the rug of "Ignore Pope, he went cray-cray and is the villain now". Also, BaldPope is just wrong.

 

However, if by some miracle he succeeds next week and does killl Hal, he'll be my favorite person ever.

 

Tector mention. *Wails* I miss you, Tector!

Edited July 20, 2015 by Garnett7

[TVSpectator]

I really hate this plotline. Isn't it enough they have to fight aliens and skitters and overlords and freak-wasps, now Tom has to go fight Pope, too? Meh, I'll pass.

 

I hate them doing this with Pope. He was the one character who could call the Mason's on their crap and nepotism. But now all the valid points he's made will get brushed under the rug of "Ignore Pope, he went cray-cray and is the villain now". Also, BaldPope is just wrong.

 

However, if by some miracle he succeeds next week and does killl Hal, he'll be my favorite person ever.

 

Tector mention. *Wails* I miss you, Tector!

 

Yeah, I also do hate this plotline and wish that they didn't make Pope turn into a bad guy, but I would be happy for the off chance of him just escaping (with Anthony since he is now sidelined) and star in his own spin-off. One where he explores the Post-Alien-Apocalypse US watching how society rebuilds. Obviously there is going to be at least some wars between the different surviving militias and it would be interesting to see what Pope does in those situation. But I guess we won't get to see that show. 

[anarchyangel84]

I don't think Tom Mason does a bad job as a leader. There's no "When Aliens Invade" manual for him to go by... And he's not going to make anyone happy. John Pope was never happy with Tom. He's always been a big pain in the ass.

Pope was talking about people dying under Tom Mason. Once they made so many skitters & other creatures, they were going to wipe out the 2nd Mass. They were close to hitting their target number. What if they would've gone to get Sara & while they were there, the Espheni would've attacked? Then what?

I don't like that they did this to Sara. I liked her character a lot. I feel bad for Pope- and I hate to see him go out like this. I know he hasn't died yet- but I don't get how he can survive this.

No wonder this is the last season- they're really reaching for some of these plot lines.

The Cochise thing is weird & kinda funny. He said that he was dying like it was nothing. I am glad he's ok though.

Anthony needs to stop acting like a spoiled little bitch! They take his gun & he stomps around- whining that he, "hates the Masons." Ugh. He shouldn't have that gun & it wouldn't surprise me if his hesitation is what ends up getting Pope killed.

[ramble]

I agree that the Cochise storyline was oddly inserted. I felt like they ran out of story since they didn't want the entire hour to be Mason and Pope staring at each other over the barrel of a gun. It's as if someone was just messing around one day & wrote some filler pages about a missing alien kidney type of organ mashed up with a father's sacrificial death, never dreaming it would be used. It seems storylines are being started & stopped & dropped & turned on their head on what feels like a whim. Except for the miraculous Masons. That stays consistent. Dang it Falling Skies it's hard not to hate on you & I wanted to end the series with some love. You're hurting me show.

[tv echo]

Going on last week's mission first and saving Sara second might have been the right decision to make as a leader for the greater good, but that's not the point.  It's Tom's double standard when it comes to his family versus the rest of the 2nd Mass.  If it had been one of his sons stuck in Sara's predicament, he would've gone to save him first and then gone forward with the mission second.  I know he told Pope that he would've done the same thing, but I don't believe him.  For all the talk about hard decisions from Weaver and Anne, Tom has never had to make hard decisions because he always acts according to the following priorities (in order):

 

1. Save his sons.

2. Defeat the Espheni.

3. Save others.

 

I'm not sure that Anne and their child Lexi even makes the first cut.  I think Tom loves his sons more than he loves anyone else. 

 

It doesn't matter if Pope would've done the same thing as Tom.  Pope has been set up to be the selfish asshole and the bad guy.   Tom is the leader of the 2nd Mass (and now the rest of the 'Mason Militias').  He is supposedly the hero and the good guy.  He should be applying the same rules to all of the people that he's leading.

 

Now Tom is leaving the 2nd Mass & the mission (to Weaver) and running off to save Hal.  No surprise there.

 

The Cochise story was just filler.  The Masons put more effort into saving Cochise - who's "almost like family" - than they did in trying to save Sara.

Edited July 20, 2015 by tv echo

[Garnett7]

Exactly, tv echo! You summed up my thoughts perfectly. It's all about the double standard Tom has when it comes to his sons vs. others. Which I can see a father doing, but not the leader of their little army. An army that Tom's sons have chosen to be a part of so they shouldn't get special treatment over any other soldier. So Tom can call me when he makes a conscious choice to leave his kid in epic peril to go win a battle instead. Otherwise, he's just blowing hot air.

 

I got to hand it to Anne, though, she masterfully threw Tom's sons under the bus with Pope. She was basically like, "Oh, Tom doesn't love me nearly as much as he loves his sons. They are everything to him, I'm just a second thought". Heh. Well played, Anne, well played. (I know, I know, this wasn't what the writers were going for but it kinda came across that way.)

[shrewd.buddha]

I like that Cochise proved you can run  a trillion light years from home, but you can't escape Daddy issues. 

 

... And somebody had to die, so it might as well be Daddy-Cochise... "You can quit trying to revive him. It's been nearly ninety seconds .. I'm sure he would be totally fine with it.." 

 

I wished Anne had left with the car battery in the middle of Tom and Pope's pissing/gun match, instead of after - - confident that those boys would always be fighting something. 

Pope just needs a really long Mason Family Hug, It makes all your troubles go away .. (to other people).

[iMonrey]

 

Yeah, I also do hate this plotline and wish that they didn't make Pope turn into a bad guy

 

Hasn't Pope always been the bad guy? When we first met him, wasn't he the leader of some misfit gang of outlaws that kidnapped, killed and raped their victims? Hasn't be been griping about Tom and the 2nd Mass since Day 1? The problem is the show has sort of gone out of its way to humanize this character because he's the comic relief or whatever but like I said last week, he's really the Dr. Smith of Falling Skies. It's always been horribly unrealistic to me that the 2nd Mass would have put up with him for this long, Masons or no Masons. 

 

Honestly, Pope is the one character I've always hated. He's such a trope and I just pray this time next week they'll have killed him off once and for all.

 

 

If it had been one of his sons stuck in Sara's predicament, he would've gone to save him first and then gone forward with the mission second.

 

Yes and Tom said as much but he also clarified that he wouldn't have halted the mission to do so: he would have gone off on his own after his sons and sent the rest of the team off to defeat the aliens so no time would be lost. What Pope wanted was to commandeer the truck and delay the mission at hand and nobody was down for that.

 

Honestly it's really lazy to scapegoat Tom or any of the Masons. What about Weaver? He's just as much in charge of these missions as Tom. That a lot of people in the 2nd Mass look up to Tom doesn't make him responsible for every alien-related death they've endured.

[xaxat]

Was Pope channeling his inner Colonel Kurtz or what?

 

When they found the gasoline, short wave radio, pristine vintage muscle car etc. did anyone else think we were headed to another dream/VR reveal?

 

I was hoping that the knowledge this would be the last season would focus the writers and tighten up the show for the stretch run. But that hasn't happened. They are making no progress on the aliens vs humans plot. It's a summer show. I don't want a deep examination of the human condition during war, I want victory by the good guys.

 

I'm also not happy what they did with Anthony, who was easily the steadiest member of the 2nd not named Mason or Weaver. Ann thinks he has PTSD? Maybe she ought to talk to the guy who has been infected by aliens, abducted by aliens, sees visions, tolerates torture and used the severed head of a skeeter as a motivational tool.

[Ottis]

I have crapped all over this show since the first season, for the most part. But this was the first episode since then when most of what happened made show-realistic sense. Maybe it was because it felt like Pope was speaking for the viewers in almost every scene.

 

Yes and Tom said as much but he also clarified that he wouldn't have halted the mission to do so: he would have gone off on his own after his sons and sent the rest of the team off to defeat the aliens so no time would be lost. What Pope wanted was to commandeer the truck and delay the mission at hand and nobody was down for that.

 

 

A leader can't do that, though. Mason leaving to chase his kid is worse than Pope (or any plain soldier) doing so. If you are the leader, you have additional responsibilities. This show really needs a plot where Mason *doesn't* leave to rescue his kid, and the kid somehow makes it back, pissed.

 

While the Cochise B plot was indeed kind of random (I was like everyone on the show when Cochise told them he was leaving to die ... 'Wait, what?"), it did lead to a nice moment with Cochise and Anne saying goodbye to their lost loved ones through that Volm ceremony. Though Cochise only had to do so because, you know, he manipulated his dad into the operation and it went wrong. But never mind.

 

I got to hand it to Anne, though, she masterfully threw Tom's sons under the bus with Pope.

 

 

This was one part that made no sense. Ann wouldn't say that Mason doesn't care about any of them. That's flat out not true, even if Mason is a douchebag, and she more than anyone not named Mason should know that.

 

I didn't see the last 10 minutes, but I see that Mason proved Pope right by running off to try to rescue Hal. Pope for president.

 

P.S. Pope does not have a head shape that looks right when it is shaved.

[Julie23]

Pope has always been a blow-hard a-hole. I think they tried to "nice him up" with the addition of Sara, but I always wondered what the hell she saw in him. I was sorry they killed her off and not Pope. I don't get the Mason hate.

[Gudzilla]

 

P.S. Pope does not have a head shape that looks right when it is shaved.

It's too round, he looks like an evil Charlie Brown.

 

So Pope is fed up and wants to take down Tom. At least they're coming up with new plot-lines this season.

[TVSpectator]

Hasn't Pope always been the bad guy? When we first met him, wasn't he the leader of some misfit gang of outlaws that kidnapped, killed and raped their victims? Hasn't be been griping about Tom and the 2nd Mass since Day 1? The problem is the show has sort of gone out of its way to humanize this character because he's the comic relief or whatever but like I said last week, he's really the Dr. Smith of Falling Skies. It's always been horribly unrealistic to me that the 2nd Mass would have put up with him for this long, Masons or no Masons. 

 

Honestly, Pope is the one character I've always hated. He's such a trope and I just pray this time next week they'll have killed him off once and for all.

 

 

Yes and Tom said as much but he also clarified that he wouldn't have halted the mission to do so: he would have gone off on his own after his sons and sent the rest of the team off to defeat the aliens so no time would be lost. What Pope wanted was to commandeer the truck and delay the mission at hand and nobody was down for that.

 

Honestly it's really lazy to scapegoat Tom or any of the Masons. What about Weaver? He's just as much in charge of these missions as Tom. That a lot of people in the 2nd Mass look up to Tom doesn't make him responsible for every alien-related death they've endured.

 

Yeah, Pope was a leader of a misfit criminal gang that was going around allegedly kidnapping and killing Skitters (and apparently his gang was the first to figure out how to kill those things and he taught it  to the 2nd Mass. Which brings up the issue that the 2nd Mass kind of does need Pope), but it was unclear (IMO) to what actually happened to Maggie. Maggie told Hal and Karen (back before she joined the Esh side) that she was being held hostage and that they are raping her, minus Pope. Later on, Maggie confronts Pope and tells him what his brother and his friends did to her and someone mentioned that Pope responded with, "I didn't know" to Maggie. Again, it's not clear and never shown. For all we know Maggie was lying to Hal and Karen about being kidnapped and forced to join Pope's gang, because she saw the writing on the wall that the 2nd Mass will come to save them and probably kill them in the process. Although, I do think that something did happen between his brother, his friends, and Maggie but I would give Pope a slide and say that he wasn't aware because he thought his brother was better than that. 

 

As with their cars, doesn't the 2nd Mass have more working cars than that food truck?

Edited July 20, 2015 by TVSpectator

[mythoughtis]

Yes, Tom cares about his boys that he raised from birth more than he seemed to care about Lexi - an alien child who he saw briefly as a baby, then again at age 6, and then as an adult.  She was so far out of his comfort zone that he never got the chance to develop normal feelings for her.      He cares deeply about Ann, who doesn't care at all about his boys.  She barely even acknowledges they exist as anything other than militia members.   She has no other family left, she could at least pretend to care about her step-children than she has known for several years now. 

 

Weaver is supposed to lead the militia, but defers to Tom about anything other than combat.

 

I did not recognize Pope with a shaved head, and found him creepier than normal.  He's never been a stand-up guy, always a renegade (remember the Bezerkers?), wants to be the boss, but never wants to actually lead into combat.  He's always been there for comic relief.  

 

Cochise seemed perfectly healthy a week ago.  Kidney failure doesn't happen that fast does it? Not to a species that can self-heal from surgery within minutes?

[thuganomics85]

Man, I thought the title for this episode was just going to be them winking at the audience, but they totally have Pope shave his freaking head by the end of this episode.  I guess he just needs the hat to go full Heisenberg on this show.  Well, that and Bryan Cranston's talent, and while Colin Cunningham is solid, he's not Cranston to say the least.

 

I honestly didn't predict Anthony throwing in with Pope, but it know seems pretty obvious.  Too bad I just think it's stupid.  I know he's suppose to be suffering from PTSD and everything, and even buy him wanting to change leadership, but it seem like he was fully down with Pope killing Anne if he wanted to, and I just can't buy that.  As far as I'm concerned, I can't see how they would ever trust him again.  But, if I had to guess, I wouldn't be surprised if he's being setup for a "heroic" death, and will be "redeemed" that way.

 

So, we truly are getting Tom vs. Pope now.  And I don't know what to think.  On one hand, yeah, Pope did more or less lay out how this show in general tends to favor Tom and I fully agree that Tom plays by his own rules and does make exceptions for his sons, Anne, and anyone else he cares about.  It's hard to judge if Tom would be different if the shoe was on the other foot, because things to tend to go his way, but I got the sense he would always put those he cares about over the mission, which is fine for a man, but not a leader.  At the same time?  Pope is full of shit.  Has Tom's plan cost lives?  Sure.  But, to his credit, it has saved some as well.  And if Pope was in charge?  I have no doubt people would have died under his watch.  Maybe even more, because knowing Pope, he would have a "everyone look out for themselves" mentality with some things and "my way or the highway" about other things, and neither one of those is good.  So, Pope is basically talking out of his ass. So, I don't think any of these guys have the higher ground here.

 

It does remind me that there was a time Weaver was actually a leader, but now he really seems content at just being the second fiddle now.  I wonder whatever happen to that: he seemed like a decent guy when he was in charge.

 

The stuff involving Cochise did seem kind of random.  He suddenly was dying, they save him with a transplant, but his father dies in the process.  Not sure what is suppose to come out of this.  Unless this means he's now part of the Mason family, which is good for him, because that means plot armor!  Oh, there was that scene where he and Anne bond, and Anne sees Lexi again, which shows that Scarlett Byrne looks much better as a brunette, then when she's doing her stupid Daenerys/Khaleesi cosplay.

 

Pope's plan now is kidnapping Hal, and Tom is going after him alone.  Strange we didn't even get a peep from Maggie about this.  I know she's got that weird thing with Ben now, but I would think she'd still be concerned over that, especially considering her history with Pope.

[I-Kare]

I just miss Karen.

[Ottis]

Watched the last 10 minutes. OK, Pope is inexplicably unhinged. I get that he is upset over losing Sarah. But his (apparently) strong attachment to her seems sudden, and his swing into Gollum-like evil to the point where he would murder Hal and his dad seems to come out of nowhere. Pope started off as a bad guy, but even then he hated skitters more than anything. Then he became part of a team, and while he had rough edges, he belonged. Now he suddenly has swung so far back in the other direction that his stares past the camera while he ignores Tom and plots his demise are kind of comical.

 

It's too round, he looks like an evil Charlie Brown.

 

 

Perfect description.

 

It does remind me that there was a time Weaver was actually a leader, but now he really seems content at just being the second fiddle now.  I wonder whatever happen to that: he seemed like a decent guy when he was in charge.

 

 

This perhaps the biggest crime of the show, after making Mason such a twit: They demoted Weaver. Weaver should be doing all the things Tom is doing. His back story would make more sense (he lost a daughter), and his character fits better with the "inner warrior" vibe even if at times he seems kind of like a grumpy Ernest T. Bass. Tom will always be better suited to be the idea guy, the nerdy history-lesson-come-to-life advisor. That's how the show started them both, and then it flipped it and the show has been worse ever since.

 

I suppose Cochise will now lead the Volm, or make an ally of the mysterious new aliens after he is kicked out of the Volm for his dad's death, and Cichise' unique relationship with Tom will lead to victory.

[RustbeltWriter]

Last week I asked for the rogue to do something roguish and this week that request was answered. the problem with Pope's actions are that he will always be the whiny bully until someone ends him. Kill Tom in front of everyone? Nope. Kill Anne in secret? Nope. Instead, he rangles Hal out into the woods to draw Tom out so he can do in sercret what he probably should have done in the open, because he's just a wuss at heart. If this plotline ends with him killing Anthony because Anthony disagrees with him and then him seeing the light and crying on Tom's shoulder I'm going to toss my cookies in my living room.

Edited July 21, 2015 by RustbeltWriter

[AV8n]

I want to know where they get gasoline that lasts more than 3 years. My lawnmower acts up if the gas is more than 30 days old! Not to mention the batteries in those radios still working after spending at least three summers in the Georgia heat. I felt bad for Redshirt Ryan, though. And to Tom's credit, he did tell RR not to open that door.

Part of me thinks Cochise, Sr. let himself die in order to let his son take command of the Volm forces. Either that, or Anne screwed up the surgery. Which in all fairness it was her first operation on a Volm patient. Cochise should count his lucky stars.

[iMonrey]

 

On one hand, yeah, Pope did more or less lay out how this show in general tends to favor Tom

 

Well, sure, the show favors Tom and the Masons . . . the show is about them. Like it or not, this has been their story since Day 1. I understand some may find other characters more interesting, but the complaints about the show being too much about the Masons frankly puzzle me. It's like watching Breaking Bad and complaining that Walter White always seems to get away with everything. That's kind of the whole point. The whole invasion and Apocalypse has been told via the Mason family. Just sort of killing them off or marginalizing them would defeat the purpose of the story. 

[Ottis]

I understand some may find other characters more interesting, but the complaints about the show being too much about the Masons frankly puzzle me

 

 

My issue is not that the show is about them. It's that Tom and Hal are complete douchebags, and Tom is a "do as I say, not as I do" leader. I wish the show would stop giving Tom the hero treatment, quit making him into a laughable action hero (I still chuckle when I remember Tom sliding to a stop on the motorbike as "The Ghost") and give other characters around the Masons the credibility they deserve when they call Tom and Hal on their bullshit. Pope actually has a point. Several, in fact. But the show immediately makes him into a crazed, murderous loon instead of making Tom face Pope's very good points ... not about Sarah, but about Tom's overall behavior.

 

The puzzling thing is that Weaver has confronted Tom a couple of times, but the show has him drop it and Tom never learns from it.

[xaxat]

Well, sure, the show favors Tom and the Masons . . . the show is about them. 

 

Originally, that worked for me. But as the show has gone on, the treatment of the Masons has diverged so much from the rest of the 2nd Mass., that their experiences don't reflect the those of the group.

 

The Masons haven't suffered a family loss. (I don't really count Lexi because she was an alien hybrid that they knew several months.) They don't suffer from PTSD like Weaver and Anthony. (It looked like Tom might be headed down that path, but he seems back to his old self.) And when they suffer from moments of self doubt, they are usually vindicated and move on.

 

The Masons are pretty much the same characters they were at the beginning of the show. Even the love triangle hasn't resulted in any real change in the family dynamic.

Edited July 22, 2015 by xaxat

[iMonrey]

 

Originally, that worked for me. But as the show has gone on, the treatment of the Masons has diverged so much from the rest of the 2nd Mass., that their experiences don't reflect the those of the group.

 

True, but how many other characters are in a family dynamic? The other leading characters are all individuals with no family ties. As far as we can tell, the Mason family is the only actual family in the 2nd Mass. And I imagine that makes it a lot easier for them to stay grounded and keep focused. 

 

Plus, the show is about a world torn apart by an alien invasion. It's dark enough as it is. If they just started killing off the Masons right and left it would be even more depressing. They did in fact lose their wife/mother in this invasion but have managed to stay alive since then. I can see where, from the show's perspective, the Masons are the POV characters that represent the hope of survival through this 5-year war. You kill them off, basically, the aliens win. I doubt that's the direction they're aiming for at the end of this story.

[Bishop]

I wish we could have seen some growth with Pope, but then again, maybe he was always meant to be a man who can't take responsibility for anything.  His ridiculous vendetta against Tom Mason over the years annoyed, but I was hoping he was growing as a character.  How has Tom Mason escaped grief as Pope claims?  ALL of his children, except Matt, have been morphed into aliens in some twisted way.  His wife was killed and so was his daughter.  Would he risk his life to save his kids?  Of course he would, just as he proved by leaving the 2nd Mass ALONE and going off to find Hal.  Pope has always found someone to blame for everything he feels has been done wrong to him.  Even if Sarah had survived, at some point down the road, Pope would have found a reason to hate Tom again.  I was hoping the writers would bring them to a point of mutual respect for each other - not friendship, but respect.  Then again, maybe it is realistic to show how war can twist people over time.

 

The person I can't figure out at all is Anthony.  I get he's upset that he was told to stand down and can't go off with a gun, but now he hates all the Masons?  Really??  He's wiling to just sacrifice Anne because his feelings are hurt?  That didn't ring true at all.  So unless that bandage on his head is really about a massive head injury that has affected his personality, I call BS.

 

The strongest parts of FS for me remain the relationship with Tom and Anne and Tom and Weaver.  I love all their conversations and scenes.  I am enjoying the war and action scenes as well.  I feel this season has really been good, and that we are moving towards a final finale.  Lastly, I am curious to find out what the aliens want Tom to do, the final battle that she was referring to.  I'm guessing that will play into the finale,  and I wonder if Tom will die to make sure that humanity wins the war.  I hope not.  I want him to survive.  My wish list for survivors are:  Tom, Anne, Ben, Weaver, the tech guy (forgot his name), and Maggie.  Everyone else is up for grabs.

Edited July 22, 2015 by Bishop

[Bishop]

Originally, that worked for me. But as the show has gone on, the treatment of the Masons has diverged so much from the rest of the 2nd Mass., that their experiences don't reflect the those of the group.

The story has always been told from the perspective and pov of the mason family, and that's why they are always front and center.  It's not a story about the 2nd Mass, imo.  It's always been about this one particular family and what they endured and survived during the invasion.

 

The Masons haven't suffered a family loss. (I don't really count Lexi because she was an alien hybrid that they knew several months.) They don't suffer from PTSD like Weaver and Anthony. (It looked like Tom might be headed down that path, but he seems back to his old self.) And when they suffer from moments of self doubt, they are usually vindicated and move on.

 

No one in the 2nd Mass has had alien DNA introduced into their bodies as readily and consistently as the Mason family.  Ben is certainly not fully human as a result of the spikes.  Hal was also infected as was Tom, and Lexi was completely transformed into a different entity all together.  Ben had to endure taunts and stares and being called names (by Pope).  Pope also was always wondering if Tom and his sons and daughter could be trusted because of their alieness.  To be sure, Tom's family DID create problems due to their alien nature, and Tom had to deal with it.  He chose to deny his daughter when he believed she was a threat to the 2nd Mass.  He tried to save her against the 2nd Mass, as any father would, but in the end, he turned against her because she was a threat.  Ben was hating his alien side, and his father was trying to love and get him to accept himself as any father would.  So I don't agree that the Mason's haven't suffered.  The argument can be made that they've suffered the most because of their alien DNA, kidnappings, and the losses they've suffered.  Of course Weaver is in that mix now too.  I think that's why Tom and Weaver are such close friends - brothers.  They have both been on similar journeys.

 

The Masons are pretty much the same characters they were at the beginning of the show. Even the love triangle hasn't resulted in any real change in the family dynamic.

 

I don't agree on this point either.  I think they are all different than what they were in season one.  All three sons are soldiers now.  Hal and Ben were fighting during the triangle mess, and Tom is NOT the same man he once was.  It was the main point as to why he didn't go back for Sarah.  As Weaver said, the "old Tom would have."  The war has changed him.  Even Anne is different now from the character she was in season one.  Heck, everyone has changed for the most part, except maybe Matt.  

Edited July 23, 2015 by Bishop

[ganesh]

I hate them doing this with Pope. He was the one character who could call the Mason's on their crap and nepotism.

 

Yeah, it's legit when he's actually contributing something, but he hasn't been doing much but bitching and whining lately. 

 

Plus, this whole Sarah was the love of my life is out of nowhere. This was an awful episode. 

 

Obviously there is going to be at least some wars between the different surviving militias and it would be interesting to see what Pope does in those situation. But I guess we won't get to see that show.

 

He'll hoard food and bully people. That's all he's been doing.

 

And I agree about what his character should be. The actor's been wasted on this character since S1. 

 

Same thing with Anthony. He's legit messed up because it happens, and it's not his fault. So now he suddenly is all murderey now. Whatever. 

 

There's no build to anything. It's just, now Pope's nuts, Anthony is mad he can't fight, Ann is the star child, whatever. 

 

If it had been one of his sons stuck in Sara's predicament, he would've gone to save him first and then gone forward with the mission second.

So Tom can call me when he makes a conscious choice to leave his kid in epic peril to go win a battle instead. Otherwise, he's just blowing hot air.

 

Well, not exactly, since in this episode Tom actually said, "yes, I would have gone for my son, but I wouldn't have taken the only transportation." This was case closed for me. Sorry, Pope, it's really your fault. You were the one who wanted to take the "short cut." I don't think it's unreasonable to presume he would have turned the mission over to Weaver. He never said he wouldn't leave his kid in epic peril. I mean, Tom isn't above criticism to be sure. There's tons of different things I would have done. 

 

Which clearly delineates Pope lack of big picture thinking. Everything is me me me now now now with him. Perhaps he should have been treated better by the others and this wouldn't have happened. Perhaps they should have done better with the character instead of being a mouthpiece for plot of the week.

 

You mean to tell me now, they finally found a radio and communicated with other people? I'd have assembled an engineering team years ago just for that purpose. I mean, come on.

 

I can deal with the show for the most part, but I just didn't really like this episode. It was ridiculous to me. 

[spritz]

I want to know where they get gasoline that lasts more than 3 years. My lawnmower acts up if the gas is more than 30 days old! Not to mention the batteries in those radios still working after spending at least three summers in the Georgia heat. I felt bad for Redshirt Ryan, though. And to Tom's credit, he did tell RR not to open that door.

Part of me thinks Cochise, Sr. let himself die in order to let his son take command of the Volm forces. Either that, or Anne screwed up the surgery. Which in all fairness it was her first operation on a Volm patient. Cochise should count his lucky stars.

 

What Anne did was medical malpractice. She was responsible for Cochise Sr.'s death. Anne pestered father and son to undergo the operation. She wouldn't take no for an answer. Anne knew nothing about Volm anatomy or biology. She wasn't qualified to do the job, yet she practically guaranteed to father and son that she would get the job done 100% successfully. What Anne did was unethical. Too bad Cochise didn't hold it against her.

[spritz]

Heck, everyone has changed for the most part, except maybe Matt.

 

 

I am sick of hearing Tom or Anne saying "good work...Matt". "good work finding the mace...good work Matt building the microscope", "good this...good that...Matt". Do the writers have a quota where Matt has to be in a certain number of scenes in each episode? I don't find Matt's antics endearing, if indeed that is what the writers meant them to be. That boy is incredibly annoying.

 

Matt should have been the one that should have been killed off instead of Lexi, if it had to be one or the other.

 

Matt may not have changed. But the actor who plays Matt apparently has. I assume he is going through puberty. I find it distracting and annoying.

[Ottis]

tt may not have changed. But the actor who plays Matt apparently has. I assume he is going through puberty. I find it distracting and annoying.

 

 

I find Matt to be the most reasonable Mason. I realize that isn't saying much.

Edited July 27, 2015 by Ottis